Additional Communication Channel Research Articles

Describing and Animating Complex Communicative Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior Using Eva-Framework

Multimodal interfaces incorporating embodied conversational agents enable the development of novel concepts with regard to interaction management tactics in responsive human–machine interfaces. Such interfaces provide several additional nonverbal communication channels, such as natural visualized speech, facial expression, and different body motions. In order to simulate reactive humanlike communicative behavior and attitude, the realization of motion relies on different behavioral analyses and realization tactics and approaches. This article proposes a novel environment for “online” visual modeling of humanlike communicative behavior, named EVA-framework. In this study we focus on visual speech and nonverbal behavior synthesis by using hierarchical XML-based behavioral events and expressively adjustable motion templates. The main goal of the presented abstract motion notation scheme, named EVA-Script, is to enable the synthesis of unique and responsive behavior.

The relationship between communication and construction safety climate in China

Cultivating a good safety climate is critical to the improvement of safety performance in construction. Previous research has demonstrated that communication is important in strengthening the safety climate. However, few studies have addressed the role of jobsite communication in safety or investigated its relationship with the safety climate. Attempts to optimize communication to improve the safety climate appear to lack both adequate theoretical and empirical bases, as well as consensus on its importance. Therefore, this study identifies the relationship between communication and construction safety climate. The authors surveyed four subcontractors employed on two construction projects, which were administered by different Chinese state-owned enterprises. Models of the safety communication structure and safety climate were developed through social network analysis. Interviews were conducted to confirm and summarize the findings. The results indicate that a positive safety climate could be associated with higher communication density and degree centrality, as well as with lower betweenness centrality. To enhance the jobsite safety climate, this study recommends the following best practices: (1) Construction safety leaders (e.g., site managers) should communicate more frequently with construction workers when high organizational centrality is detected. (2) Additional communication channels should be established to bridge communication gaps among individuals. The findings validate the importance of communication as a way to manage the safety climate of Chinese construction projects.

Facebook can transform your business

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the value of social media as an additional sales, marketing and communication channel for small businesses.Design/methodology/approachIt presents a case study of a family‐owned, internet‐only business start‐up, describing their use of Facebook to communicate with customers and its direct and indirect impact on the business.FindingsIt must be the dream of every company leader ‐ and every marketing executive ‐ to find something that will allow them to double sales quickly and cheaply. And if using that tool gets the business closer to its customers, understanding their needs and engaging them in a two‐way conversation, well, so much the better. Online social networks (OSNs) may be the answer ‐ and for one small company, the decision to use social media has transformed their situation.Practical implicationsThe paper shows that social media can be a valuable tool for small businesses as well as large corporations.Social implicationsIt points out that many of The Sleep Store's customers are already using social media in their daily lives. It warns that other consumer groups may not be as ready to share their experiences or use this as their main communication channel with companies.Originality/valueThis paper demonstrates the value of combining word‐of‐mouth recommendation with use of the internet. It is one of the first investigations to research the use of social media by small businesses.

Resilient actions in the diagnostic process and system performance

ObjectivesSystemic issues can adversely affect the diagnostic process. Many system-related barriers can be masked by ‘resilient’ actions of frontline providers (ie, actions supporting the safe delivery of care in the...

Viral political communication and readability: an analysis of an Italian political blog

ABSTRACTThe Internet is widely used by political parties to report events and to send messages to the voting population. Politicians used digital media (websites, blogs, bulletin boards/lists, and chat/instant messaging) in recent elections, together with traditional media (television, newspapers, rallies, etc.). Political blogs represent not only an additional communication channel but also an instrument for spreading editorial content and messages, virally infecting more traditional media channels. A key task for any political party or politician is to make the blog understandable and easy to read as a first step to ignite and spread the right viral effect. To reach this goal, writers must consider both their content and their target audience. This article measures the readability of the text of a political blog to provide insight on the effectiveness of viral communication using blogs. The Beppegrillo.it blog was analyzed from January 2005 to May 2012 and is a unique example of a political blog using a single official media. This blog switched in the period of the study from being a personal blog to a political blog. The posts were divided into two different phases: the former were intended to discuss political topics and were written by a not‐yet‐political contributor; the latter were posts written by an active politician. Content analysis using simple word and sentence counts for every year of posts was undertaken, along with a readability analysis using the Microsoft Word Spelling and Grammar function, and both the Gunning Fog Index and the Gulpease Index. The two different phases were compared to determine if any change occurred in readability, complexity of the text, and volume of communication. In this way, we can explore the differences in the communication techniques used in the political field unofficially and then officially. Finally, our findings indicate that levels of readability of communications, particularly among broad‐based audiences, may be deteriorating significantly when the blog becomes a political one and the communication becomes more institutional. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Connecting with the image: how art psychotherapy can help to re-establish a sense of epistemic trust.

The International Centre for Arts Psychotherapies Training (ICAPT) was established by CNWL NHS Foundation Trust in London in November 2011. The centre was set up to further research and advance clinical practice within NHS mental health settings. At the la unch of the research arm of ICAPT in July 2012, Professor Peter Fonagy spoke on the subject of the future of research in arts psychotherapies. This paper is a response to Professor Peter Fonagy’s presentation (The ICAPT 2012) on the potential arts psychoth erapies have to enhance the development of the therapeutic relationship. During the presentation Fonagy suggested to a group of arts psychotherapists that: ”˜the future of research is trying to understand what you guys do that actually helps re - establish in our patient a sense of epistemic trust, a sense that human knowledge and human communication, as communicated by fellow human beings can be trusted, can be relied on ... ’ A recording of this presentation is followed by a discussion section in which two art p sychotherapists explore and expand upon the ideas presented by Fonagy. They explore his question about what the processes of making and reflecting on images in a therapeutic context can add to the development of ”˜epistemic trust’ within the therapeutic rel ationship. It is suggested that creative arts have the potential to enhance the development of epistemic trust within the therapeutic relationship by offering opportunities for contingency and joint engagement. Individual, group and dyadic art psychotherap y allow for the creation of an external object which is congruent with the maker's internal world. The art making process and the art object itself can create an additional channel of communication which helps the art psychotherapist to understand the client’s inner world. This greater understanding can support the psychotherapist’s capacity to respond in an attuned way to the client. The authors explore the idea that joint engagement in art making can lead to opportunities for enhanced mentalizing and that with sufficient research and theoretical underpinning, this type of model could help to define clinical practice for arts psychotherapies in mental health. Key Words: Fonagy; mentalization; contingent communication; mechanisms of change; joint engagement.

Emotion Telepresence: Emotion Augmentation through Affective Haptics and Visual Stimuli

The paper focuses on a novel concept of emotional telepresence. The iFeel_IM! system which is in the vanguard of this technology integrates 3D virtual world Second Life, intelligent component for automatic emotion recognition from text messages, and innovative affective haptic interfaces providing additional nonverbal communication channels through simulation of emotional feedback and social touch (physical co-presence). Users can not only exchange messages but also emotionally and physically feel the presence of the communication partner (e.g., family member, friend, or beloved person). The next prototype of the system will include the tablet computer. The user can realize haptic interaction with avatar, and thus influence its mood and emotion of the partner. The finger gesture language will be designed for communication with avatar. This will bring new level of immersion of on-line communication.

“Connecting to Congress”: The use of Twitter by Members of Congress

How do political elites, such as the Members of the U.S. Congress, decide to use innovative forms of Information and Communication Technologies, such as social media applications? Communication between elected officials is guided by outdated rules and regulations that are focusing on paper mailings. The apparent lack of formal guidance and outdated rules are not reflecting the changing online landscape and the requirements on Members of Congress to interact with their constituents where they prefer to receive their information. New forms of highly interactive online communication tools, such as the microblogging service Twitter are challenging the existing information paradigm. First year of tweets posted by Members of Congress in combination with qualitative interviews with congressional offices show that the Members are mainly using Twitter to complement their existing push communication style and automatically distribute vetted content via Twitter, using the Microblogging service as an additional communication channel for their individual appearances and issues. The awareness network among tweeting Members specifically shows that the potential for interactive conversations are not harnessed. Finally, Twitter’s potential as an innovative mode for future democratizing interactions is discussed.

A Weighted Queue-Based Model for Correlated Rayleigh and Rician Fading Channels

A new channel model for binary additive noise communication channel with memory, called weighted queue-based channel (WQBC), is introduced. The proposed WQBC generalizes the conventional queue-based channel (QBC) such that each queue cell has a different contribution to the noise process, i.e. the queue cells are selected with different probabilities. Suitably selecting the modeling function, the generalization introduced by the WQBC does not increase the number of modelling parameters required compared to the QBC. The statistical and information-theoretical properties of the new model are derived. The WQBC and the QBC are compared in terms of capacity and the accuracy in modeling a family of hard decision frequency-shift keying demodulated correlated Rayleigh and Rician fading channels. It is observed that the WQBC requires a much smaller Markovian memory than the QBC to achieve the same capacity, and provides a very good approximation of the fading channels as the QBC for a wide range of channel conditions.

Laser communication applied for EDRS, the European data relay system

Future earth observation satellites call for GEO relay links to make their data immediately available to the user. While RF communication limits the GEO relay’s data rate to roughly 1 Gbps (Gigabit per second) laser communication will extend its capacity into the 10 Gbps range as is required for the future systems. Laser communication will be applied for EDRS, the European data GEO relay system. At first, it is foreseen to provide the RF LEO-to-GEO link with an additional laser communication channel, still limiting, of course, the GEO relay’s performance to the RF bottleneck. However besides the operational service, the EDRS laser terminals shall also demonstrate the performance of high data rate links for both, the inter-satellite link and the GEO-to-ground link.

P2-S6.04 Needs assessment on STI prevention services among men who have sex with men with HIV in Guatemala City, 2010

Background STI prevention and support services for MSM living with HIV in Guatemala are limited. The aim of this study was to collect information on STI risk among MSM living with HIV to inform the development of integrated prevention and care services for this population. Methods As part of a qualitative study with MSM in Guatemala City, nine MSM living with HIV were purposely selected and interviewed in March 2010. Interviews addressed STI-related risk behaviours, experiences with HIV/STI services, social network characteristics and life after HIV diagnosis. Participants were recruited through referral from NGO representatives, key informants, clinic staff and other participants. In-depth interviews were recorded and transcribed and field notes were incorporated into the transcriptions. After multiple readings of the transcripts, key themes were identified and a codebook was developed. Codes were applied using the qualitative software Atlas.ti. Data was further analysed using analytic memos and discussions with research team. Results Despite reporting HIV-related risk behaviours, including multiple, concurrent sexual partners, inconsistent condom use, and alcohol and drug use, most participants did not report an STI infection after their HIV diagnosis. Attitudes towards current HIV/AIDS treatment services tended to be favourable, especially among those who compared them to earlier treatment experiences, and participants described preferences for a one-stop venue for sexual health services. Participants were generally not familiar with STI services and identified several barriers to access including insufficient information on STI, lack of confidentiality and fear of stigma and discrimination from health workers. Many participants experienced a double burden of family rejection, first for their sexual orientation and then for their HIV diagnosis. In response to this alienation, participants created alternative networks of social support, frequently with other MSM or people with HIV, which provide moral support and motivation for treatment adherence. Conclusions STI prevention, diagnosis and treatment services among MSM with HIV in Guatemala should be strengthened. Prevention interventions should contemplate using social support networks as an additional communication channel for STI prevention and antiretroviral adherence messages. Confidential STI prevention, diagnosis and treatment services should be integrated into existing HIV/AIDS services.

Optimising the use of wireless application protocol (WAP) sites for listening activities in a Korean English as a foreign language (EFL) context

Using the Internet through a mobile phone for learning English as a foreign language (EFL) listening skills has significant potential, and language learners in South Korea hold clearly positive attitudes towards using this. However, the barriers discouraging language learners from using the Internet for EFL listening have not yet been thoroughly investigated. This study investigates these barriers and proposes a number of features to minimise them, in order to encourage the use of EFL listening wireless application protocol (WAP) sites in a Korean context. These barriers and WAP site design principles were investigated experimentally. A WAP site for EFL listening activities was designed based on WAP site design principles and used for EFL listening for 12 weeks. Thirty Korean college-level students participated in the experiment, which used questionnaire surveys and interviews. The learners' attitudes towards using the WAP site changed after the experiment, and this change was a result of both positive and negative factors – the novelty, convenience and interactivity of the site on the positive side, and the limitations of mobile technology and the extra expense of the Internet connection on the negative side. A number of suggestions are made to minimise the negative factors and optimise the positive ones. These include various changes to the WAP-based activities, additional communication channels and instant help and feedback facilities, all of which show potential for minimising the barriers and optimising the use of WAP sites for EFL listening.

For Better or Worse: Using Wikis and Blogs for Staff Communication in an Academic Library

This case study from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University Libraries, which has one main library, three branches, and more than 110 staff, illustrates one approach to using new technologies as additional methods for internal communication. At large academic libraries, communication within the organization can be challenging. The potential that Web 2.0 tools have to increase opportunities for communication and collaboration is one reason internal staff wiki and blogs were implemented at the University Libraries. The staff wiki is predominantly used to archive committee meeting minutes, policies and procedures, and departmental information, while blogs are used mainly for news items and departmental updates. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, library staff were surveyed to assess the changes in communication after the implementation of blogs and an internal wiki. The authors theorized that Web 2.0 technologies would reduce barriers and improve communication. Results indicated an overall improvement in internal staff communication after the implementation of the staff wiki; however, no change was noted with blogs. Findings also showed several challenges for the future, including the need for additional training with the tools and a desire for more regular postings to the blogs. A major test for the future is ensuring that these new Web 2.0 technologies become more integrated into staff workflows so the technologies will be more readily adopted by library staff as additional communication channels.

Entrepreneurial marketing and the Web 2.0 interface

PurposeThe paper aims to analyse the relationship between marketing and entrepreneurship. It looks at the way in which Web 2.0 technologies are changing the marketing and entrepreneurial landscapes.Design/methodology/approachThe paper explores the impact of Web 2.0 social media for entrepreneurial marketing. It looks at social media as a marketing tool and considers the positive and negative effects it has for entrepreneurs and small businesses.FindingsWeb 2.0 plays a central part in the functioning and delivery of marketing and entrepreneurship. It empowers individual consumers and provides additional communication channels for comment, feedback, and involvement in shaping product and service development and experience. It is also a tool for human empowerment, liberation and advancing the cause of freedom, including the freedom to start a business.Originality/valueThe paper discusses issues of “real‐world” relevance, which entrepreneurs, small business owners and marketing practitioners can use to inform and develop their practice. It argues that Web 2.0 can be used to liberate and further emancipate consumers and further the cause of entrepreneurship.

The brain as game controller

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) have enabled the brain with a new, non-muscular communication and control channel, a direct interface for conveying messages and commands to the external world. The ability to communicate and control devices using one's thoughts without the need for motor movements is suitable for a broad range of medical applications, such as in assisting locked-in patients or for therapeutic treatments. Scientists are expanding the scope of BCIs to enable widespread integration of this technology into computer games. These are mainly intended as an additional control or communication channel along with normal human-computer interaction methods. The application of BCIs in computer games can be extended to motor-disabled persons as subjects to enable them to have new abilities to socially interact with the world around them – using nothing more than the power of their thoughts – and to engage in computer-based recreational activities.

Tailoring Hospital Education Materials for The Period of PURPLE Crying: Keeping Babies Safe in North Carolina Media Campaign

The social marketing approach recognizes the need to tailor message and channel strategies to effectively reach the full range of individuals who must act or exert influence to bring about knowledge, belief, and behavior change. However, repurposing health education materials for additional target audiences and communication channels may at times be rationalized as a necessary response to budgetary constraints. Furthermore, when the materials in question are the outcome of rigorous testing, the experts involved may be reluctant to accept the need for tailoring those materials. This study demonstrates how a rigorously designed and tested shaken baby syndrome prevention program comprising a 10-minute DVD and an 11-page brochure delivered in-hospital to parents of newborns by specially trained health care workers was adapted for a media campaign targeting additional audiences and channels. Focus group research determined which messages and images from The Period of PURPLE Crying DVD and brochure were most salient. Participants were surprised to learn about the normalcy of prolonged infant crying, embraced the PURPLE label, and were keen to share this new knowledge. The volume and quality of advice new parents receive emerged as important. Two campaign concepts, including key messages and visuals, were tested using focus groups and intercept interviews. The normalcy of infant crying as a developmental stage rather than an indication of caregiver incompetence or an unhealthy child resonated with respondents and was adopted for the campaign. This approach underscores the value of tailoring and message testing to provide evidence-based guidance for media campaign decisions.

Interactive Lecturing by Integrating Mobile Devices and Micro-blogging in Higher Education

Following the recent advances in both technology and social interaction, implementation of interactivity to large lecture rooms presents itself as a promising new methodology to improve the learning and teaching process in academia. Namely, based on the underlying ideas of Web 2.0, learners should be able to collect and share online resources during a lecture, additional communication channels such as discussion forums, chat and micro-blogging helping to achieve interactivity on traditional face-to-face teaching. Building on such premises, first experiences have been acquired by the use of mobile devices and instant messaging in enhancing the learning and teaching behavior, with the help of a university wide available Learning Management System (LMS), which has accordingly been adapted and extended to the specific needs of supporting interactivity through mobile devices. The LMS is intended to use common and existing software and hardware (devices of the learners). The goal of the above research is to find out the potentials of interactivity in order to enhance students' engagement in traditional face-to-face teaching in Higher Education. The paper describes the outcomes of the first experiments in implementing interactivity in Higher Education in such a framework within the Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) and comments on the methodology applied. The experiments, which have been performed during lecturing within the course "Social Aspects of Information Technology" at the BSc level, attended by about 200 students, have shown that such kind of interactivity has a positive effect on the learners' engagement.

Control of an Electrical Prosthesis With an SSVEP-Based BCI

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are systems that establish a direct connection between the human brain and a computer, thus providing an additional communication channel. They are used in a broad field of applications nowadays. One important issue is the control of neuroprosthetic devices for the restoration of the grasp function in spinal-cord-injured people. In this communication, an asynchronous (self-paced) four-class BCI based on steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) was used to control a two-axes electrical hand prosthesis. During training, four healthy participants reached an online classification accuracy between 44% and 88%. Controlling the prosthetic hand asynchronously, the participants reached a performance of 75.5 to 217.5 s to copy a series of movements, whereas the fastest possible duration determined by the setup was 64 s. The number of false negative (FN) decisions varied from 0 to 10 (the maximal possible decisions were 34). It can be stated that the SSVEP-based BCI, operating in an asynchronous mode, is feasible for the control of neuroprosthetic devices with the flickering lights mounted on its surface.

A Linear Prediction Based Estimation of Signal-to-Noise Ratio in AWGN Channel

Most signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimation techniques in digital communication channels derive the SNR estimates solely from samples of the received signal after the matched filter. They are based on symbol SNR and assume perfect synchronization and intersymbol interference (ISI)-free symbols. In severe channel distortion where ISI is significant, the performance of these estimators badly deteriorates. We propose an SNR estimator which can operate on data samples collected at the front-end of a receiver or at the input to the decision device. This will relax the restrictions over channel distortions and help extend the application of SNR estimators beyond system monitoring. The proposed estimator uses the characteristics of the second order moments of the additive white Gaussian noise digital communication channel and a linear predictor based on the modified-covariance algorithm in estimating the SNR value. The performance of the proposed technique is investigated and compared with other in-service SNR estimators in digital communication channels. The simulated performance is also compared to the Cramer-Rao bound as derived at the input of the decision circuit.

Additional communication channels in Dutch television genres

This study examined the way in which television genres in the Netherlands make use of additional communication channels in terms of interactivity and genre modification and whether the availability of additional communication channels in genres corresponds to audience age. Expert interviews were held with representatives of Dutch broadcasting organizations and a secondary analysis of Audience Research data was conducted. It was found that compared to other genres, short message service (SMS) is added most frequently to reality programmes, email and websites to the information genre, teletext to sports programmes and merchandizing to children's programmes. In addition, it was found that only SMS is added more often to programmes attracting a younger audience. The extent to which the additional communication channels represented real innovation varied from maintenance to the elaboration and modification of genres.